The Coming Hour
by Shards of Light
Summary: Kagome barely made it out of the well before she collapsed.  The doctors say it's the flu, but the meds aren't helping.  Inuyasha won't wait forever, and modern doctors have never seen the effects of curses before . . .


Hey, y'all! I'm posting this while I should be working on my outher story! Please read it! I have no idea why I am motivationally challenged on it (coughthirtypageviewscough). This is set in an alternate universe where the third movie didn't happen. _This_ is the third movie! Sort of. Review and I will give cookies! (Evil cookies . . . heh heh.)

Note: "-" equals interrupted and ". . ." indicates trailed off by themselves. The voices will alway speak in order. So the first voice will always start, and the second voice will always end, etc.

Prologue: Ruined World

"Are you sure this is necessary?"

"I'm sure it will avert this living hell."

The buildings had collapsed, exposed to the elements. Although the contents had deteriorated years before, the wind occasionally turned up a fragile relic of times past. The sun was out infrequently, and the constant rain soon shattered the artifact, erasing even the memory of its existence.

"But she's-"

"All this chaos makes it impossible to determine, you know that."

Then there were the bones, long since picked clean. Very rarely were the skeletons intact, and almost never was there found one with none of its bones broken. The leg bones were snapped, the ribs cracked, the spine twisted. Often the skulls were crushed, but sometimes an intact one was found, although never attached.

"But she's a living human!"

"Not really. And neither are we."

These skulls were usually the smaller ones, their detached skeletons significantly shorter.

"But we can't just-"

"_She_ is the one responsible for _this_, all of this!"

All of the remains spoke of violent death; a massive slaughter with none left alive to mourn the fallen properly. The city, once full of life and laughter, was now only an enormous open grave, filled with sorrow and silence.

"It's just wrong!"

"We will be preventing the greatest disaster known! How is that wrong?"

Silence, that is, except for the two voices that still sounded on this ruined world. There was a barely noticeable passageway through the rubble, leading to a room buried deep under the ruins. This room was the origin of the voices arguing in the shadows.

"If you're certain that there's no other way . . . ."

"I am."

Chanting filled the air, echoing strangely off the walls and filtering into the silent air above. Not even the speaker understood the language, an obscure tongue that had been dead for centuries. The atmosphere thickened as the intonation went on. Then there was a slight pause.

"I still don't like this . . ."

"We have no other choice!"

The air was hot, heavy, making it difficult to breathe. If the spell was not finished soon, at best it would have to be begun again. At worst, the effect would be roughly parallel to that of a small nuclear bomb.

"Alright. I'll do it." 

"Hurry, we don't have much time . . . !"

The chanting resumed, slowly at first, then faster; softly at first, then louder, until the words were being shrieked with such intensity that it was no surprise what happened next. A sphere of deep purple-black flame burst into existence, poised over a hole in the center of the room. The chanting stopped for a moment, a low muttering taking its place . . . .

"I said I'd do it; I said I'd do it; I said I'd do it-"

"And you did. It is drifting . . . my turn now."

A new voice picked up the chanting, the forceful words pushing back the flame, reclaiming the short space it had wandered towards the voices, restoring its original position over the hole. The chanting escalated to fever pitch, and the flare hovered for only a moment, resisting, before dropping down the pit. The sickly violet glow flashed blue for an instant, and then disappeared entirely.

"Why was it like that? It's not as if magic has a mind of its own, does it?"

"It seems you were correct."

"About what?"

"It was set to her."

"So it came after us because she's-"

"Apparently."

Silence. Utter, complete, true silence. When the voice responded, it was filled with fear, but there was a note of resignment underneath it.

"Well, _damn_."

"Tell me about it."

* * *

'Bye guys; I'll be back in a few days," Kagome called, jumping into the Bone Eater's well. 

"Wait just a minute-"

"I'll bring you back some ramen, Inuyasha!" The flashing lights surrounded the girl, letting her know she was on her way home. And if the lights were a little darker than usual, she didn't notice.

With an audible thud, she fell to the floor of the well in the modern world. The lights continued for a few seconds before fading out.

"Mom, Souta, I'm home!" she called, reaching for the rope ladder on the side of the well. She started climbing, pausing halfway when a dizzy spell hit. It passed quickly though, and she continued up, pulling herself over the lip of the well.

She rolled a few feet before stopping and coming to a sitting position. She saw her mother in the doorway and stood up to go to her. However, before she took more than a step, a wave of weakness hit her, driving her to her knees.

"Kagome, what's wrong?"

She could dimly see two women in front of her beckoning towards the courtyard before turning to face her again. She noted that there were now three of the women in front of her, wavering, while everything else was spinning crazily. Dazedly she noticed that she felt nauseous. She tried to speak, but nothing came out.

As if from a way's off, she heard her mother say, "Kagome, let me help you up."

She was screaming no in her mind, trying desperately to shove down the nausea, but it was too much for her strained stomach when her mother jerked her to her feet. She only had enough warning to turn away before she was abruptly sick.

After that, the room spun even more, and her consciousness faded into darkness.


End file.
